By d. emerson eddy — Shawn McManus is one of my all time favorite artists. I believe that the first time I saw his art, or at least the first time I remember seeing it, was the issue of Swamp Thing that paid tribute to Walter Kelly's Pogo, “Pog” in #32. I didn't know the reference at the time, but I did know that I loved McManus' cartoon-like style that was so different from the regular art from Steve Bissette, John Totleben, and the other artists in the issues I'd managed to find at a second-hand bookstore. I was instantly captivated by it and he became on of the first artists whose work I sought out when I finally had wider access to back issues and a diversity of comics, following his work in Doctor Fate, Omega Men, later through his contributions to both Sandman and the Fables universes, Aquaman, and more. When it was announced that McManus would be the artist for Black Crown's series House Amok, with Christopher Sebela, Lee Loughridge, Aditya Bidikar, and Neil Uyetake, I was overjoyed. Like Peter Milligan penning the Kid Lobotomy series, it was good to see an old hat from Vertigo joining new talent at the imprint.

House Amok is like a house on fire. It follows a family that has completely bought in to the conspiracy theories of a story made up by their youngest twins, Ollie and Dylan, and it just starts from a spark of reality adjusters into a fireball of fighting against the world to save the world. It's interesting to see a family's descent into shared madness and what happens when one of the architects of that madness just stops playing the game, trying to bring them back from sanity. It was entertaining when it came out, but it reads entirely differently on this side of the January 6th insurrection and further rise of QAnon conspiracy theories that are just completely out to lunch. It shows us how that thinking, unhinged from reality, could perpetuate and become so incendiary that it's dangerous to everyone. Like Crowded and Test, this series is definitely one tied to interpretations of popular culture that seems prescient and makes Christopher Sebela one hell of a commentator on the world as we know it and storyteller.

It also unsurprisingly has incredible artwork from McManus and Lee Loughridge. McManus' refined cartooning style adds the perfect surrealism to the story. There's a safety in his shapes and characters that it makes it all the more jarring when reality breaks and weird looking creatures pop out of the cracks. The designs for many of the antagonists play with familiar conventions of urban legends, making them that much scarier. Loughridge's colors add to this, choosing a limited color palette of reds, blues, and a variety of earth tones. You're left feeling like the adventure is completely off the rails and that you've taken a trip into crazy town.

Keeping it all together is the narration done in Dylan's voice. Sebela gives us an insight into both sides of the madness through her perspective, and shows some of the cracks where maybe the family really is right. It's nicely presented first in notebook form from Aditya Bidikar, then taken over by Neil Uyetake from the third issue on. There's an interesting adjustment when the notebook changes to a computer.

House Amok is a highly entertaining tale from Sebela, McManus, Loughridge, Bidikar, and Uyetake. It's one of the shining gems in the Black Crown and a fascinating look at a family who has given into their delusions, for one reason or another. It's also a commentary on how easy it is to allow your world to fall apart, to the point where anything seems plausible, because it's easier to blame others.

House Amok

House Amok
Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artist: Shawn McManus
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterers: Aditya Bidikar & Neil Uyetake
Publisher: IDW - Black Crown
It’s the summer vacation from hell! Ten-year-old twin Dylan Sandifer and her family have fallen down a rabbit hole full of secret implants, conspiracy theories, Mandela effects, invaders, and organ thieves. As the attacks intensify, the Sandifers light out across the country in search of answers and salvation, blazing a bloody path of arson and murder.
Release Date: May 1, 2019
Price: $9.99
More Info: House Amok
Read It Online: House Amok via comiXology

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d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on Twitter @93418.